Coupon Swap helps shoppers maximize their money

Jose D. Enriquez II, Beaumont Enterprise

By Jose D. Enriquez III

Published 8:25 am, Monday, July 29, 2013

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how to use coupons in conjunction with sales. Borel started coupon swap so people can get together to trade coupons they don't want with those they need.
Photo: Jose D. Enriquez III

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how...

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how to use coupons in conjunction with sales. Borel started coupon swap so people can get together to trade coupons they don't want with those they need. She said the best way to stay on track is to stay organized. She separates her coupons by categories.
Photo: Jose D. Enriquez III

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how...

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how to use coupons in conjunction with sales. Borel started coupon swap so people can get together to trade coupons they don't want with those they need. Knowing store policies on coupons is pretty helpful. Some stores, like Target, allow double stack coupons, or using a store and manufacturer coupon. HEB does not allow double stack.
Photo: Jose D. Enriquez III

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how...

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how to use coupons in conjunction with sales. Borel started coupon swap so people can get together to trade coupons they don't want with those they need.
Photo: Jose D. Enriquez III

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how...

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how to use coupons in conjunction with sales. Borel started coupon swap so people can get together to trade coupons they don't want with those they need.
Photo: Jose D. Enriquez III

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how...

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how to use coupons in conjunction with sales. Borel started coupon swap so people can get together to trade coupons they don't want with those they need.
Photo: Jose D. Enriquez III

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how...

Doreen Borel, HEB Plus Area Community Coordinator, talks about how to use coupons in conjunction with sales. Borel started coupon swap so people can get together to trade coupons they don't want with those they need.
Photo: Jose D. Enriquez III

A penny. A nickel. A dime. Saving anything nowadays is on the minds of consumers like Nederland resident Janice Wilson, who tries to emulate extreme couponers when grazing the Wednesday and Sunday papers for deals that help her save.

Wilson will save around $50 to $75 by using coupons when she grocery shops.

"Saving money on food means I can spend more money on things like school supplies," she said.

But what does she do with coupons she doesn't need or use? Before a Coupon Swap that started last week, she either held on to them until she needed them or threw them away.

"Throwing away coupons is like throwing money away," said Doreen Borel, H-E-B Plus area community coordinator. "And, in these hard economic times, everyone is trying to make the dollar stretch."

Borel came up with the idea of setting up a group for avid couponers like herself to trade coupons they don't need instead of throwing them away.

"For example, I don't need baby coupons, but someone might need them," she said, adding that running the group also allows her to share deals she sees throughout the week while at work.

"It's a little inside way to help shoppers," she said. "Like, 'Hey, this is an unadvertised deal.'"

During the first meeting on

July 18, all coupons were separated into categories and participants were able to pick the ones they wanted.

The swap date has been set for the third Thursday of every month at the Mid-County H-E-B, as well as the fourth Thursday at the H-E-B on Dowlen Road. Both begin at 11 a.m.

Borel has already begun to receive requests for an evening meeting - something she's considering, depending on the level of community interest.

Save, save, save

Wilson said she started couponing to save on groceries - often working with a tight budget. For her family, a $70 savings is well worth the time she takes gathering coupons.

Wilson's first time couponing, she took about two hours mapping out coupons based on an HEB floor plan. That day, she spent four hours and $600 at HEB for a month's worth of groceries, and saved about $175.

"Every penny counts for me and my family," she said.

But that was the last time she devoted so much time to the process. Now, she spends 10 to 20 minutes going through circulars and organizing her coupons.

She said it's easier for her to organize by aisle rather than category - a suggestion Borel made during swap meeting.

"I've been trying to save coupons to use them," she said. "I brought a stack of 145 coupons, and two others that went brought 250 coupons and the other more than 400."

She was able exchange what coupons she didn't need for those that she did.

"I just want to save money for my family, so we can get more out it," she said.

Starting the swap has also opened a doorway for expired coupons, which are useless in the states but can be used by in military station commissaries if they have expired in the past few months.